music
R.I.P. Jerry Jeff Walker, “Mr. Bojangles” Outlaw Country Singer Dead at 78
Jerry Jeff Walker, the outlaw country songwriter best known for penning “Mr. Bojangles”, has died following a long battle with throat cancer. He was 78 years old. Walker was born Ronald Clyde Crosby on March 16th, 1942 in Oneonta, New York. He played guitar in a few local bands before becoming a full-time traveling musician after graduating from high school. On his way south, Walker spent some time in New York City, where, inspired by Greenwich Village’s folk scene, he ended up recording two albums with a group dubbed Circus Maximus. His journey took him to places like the Florida Keys and New Orleans, and it was in the latter Louisiana city that he officially took up his stage name of Jerry Jeff Walker. It was also a chance encounter in the Big Easy’s drunk tank that would eventually insp...
HAIM Get a Call from Robert Pattinson During “3 AM” Performance on Seth Meyers: Watch
HAIM have really got this “appearing on a late night talk show during quarantine” thing down. Last month, they set up outside of Los Angeles’ The Forum for a performance on Kimmel. Then on Thursday night, the siblings brought Halloween — and a special guest — to Seth Meyers. The trio’s rendition of “3 AM” from their latest LP, Women in Music Pt. III, opened with a call from Robert Pattinson. Listed in HAIM’s phone as “Emotional Vampire” (get it? ‘Cause of Twilight? You get it…), Pattinson recreated the booty-call intro from the album version of the song. After sending him to voicemail, the band revealed themselves in wedding gowns as (slightly) undead brides set in an exceedingly well-lit backyard. The vibe put a spooky sheen on the R&B jam, including a comically threatening call ...
Italians Do It Better Release New Compilation After Dark 3: Stream
Italians Do It Better, the cult-favorite record label by Johnny Jewel, has released a new installment in its After Dark compilation series called After Dark 3. Stream it below via Apple Music or Spotify. After Dark 3 spans 17 previously unreleased tracks in total that run the gamut of synth possibilities. Alongside music from Jewel’s various projects, including Chromatics, Glass Candy, and Desire, there’s selections from newcomers such as Orion, Joon, MOTHERMARY, Double Mixte, and more. Today’s release follows 2013’s After Dark 2 and the original After Dark compilation, which surfaced way back in 2007. Editors’ Picks Speaking of Chromatics, the group is still teasing their long-awaited new album Dear Tommy, which they initially announced back in 2014. To tide fans over, the band...
Gene Simmons Selling Longtime Mansion to Escape “Unacceptable” California Taxes
Gene Simmons (photo by Kevin RC Wilson), Mansion (Christopher Amitrano for Douglas Elliman) Gene Simmons has put his longtime Beverly Hills mansion on the market for $22 million, citing California’s “unacceptable” tax rates as the reason for his move. After 34 years at the home, the KISS rocker and his wife Shannon are heading to Washington state. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer purchased the Beverly Hills house in 1986 for $1.34 million. While he has since put several million dollars into renovations and upgrades, the $22 million he’s seeking should net him a nice profit. The estate was featured prominently on his family’s A&E reality show, Gene Simmons’ Family Jewels, which aired from 2006 to 2012. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Simmons explained, “California and Bev...
Ty Dolla $ign Shares New Album Featuring Ty Dolla $ign: Stream
Ty Dolla $ign has shared his new album entitled Featuring Ty Dolla $ign. Scroll onwards to stream it using Apple Music or Spotify. This is Tyrone Griffin Jr.’s first studio album since his 2018 collaboration with Jeremih, MihTy, and his first solo album since 2017’s Beach House 3. Featuring Ty Dolla $ign is named for its creator’s commitment to collaboration; hardly a month goes by without the release of a high-profile album with those exact words printed in the tracklist. In that same spirit of collaboration, Featuring Ty Dolla $ign has as many guest contributions as it does tracks — 25. These come from Post Malone, Kanye West, Roddy Ricch, Nicki Minaj, Big Sean, Kid Cudi, Future, Young Thug, Gunna, Quavo, Lil Durk, Kehlani, Jhené Aiko, 6LACK, Anderson ....
Keke Palmer Is Everybody’s Dream Girl Come To Life In Seductive ‘Dreamcatcher’ Video
What if you went to sleep with Keke Palmer posters on your wall and woke up to her singing directly to you and you alone? That’s the fantasy at the heart of her latest video for “Dreamcatcher,” a Weird Science-inspired trip through desire and wish fulfillment. The premise is simple: A young dude who loves to crush Surge and mess around on his computer ends up designing the Keke he wants in his life — and thanks to a freak electronics accident, he actually gets her. When she appears, glittering and glam and backlit by heavenly white heat, she’s already delivering the heart of the song’s message: “Make love to your dream girl / Really turns me on that you think of me.” You can guess where it goes from there. Our hero doesn’t know if he’s ...
Local Natives Perform “Statues in the Garden (Arras)” on Ellen: Watch
In just one week’s time, Local Natives have announced and released a new EP called Sour Lemon. The group’s promotional push continued Friday morning (October 23rd) with a daytime appearance on Ellen. Set up in a large and rustic indoor space with glowing overhead chandeliers, the California indie rockers rolled out “Statues in the Garden (Arras)”. The EP’s second track boasts all of Local Natives’ sweet spots — from those golden harmonies to the warm, sunny guitars — making for a TV performance that should delight new and old fans alike. At the very least, it reminded us of the live electric magic this band manages to conjure every time it takes the stage. Real concerts can’t come soon enough! Watch down below, and then head here to stream the entirety of Sour Lemon, which a...
Kid Rock Attended the Presidential Debate and Had to Be Told to Wear a Mask
Joe Biden might have the Avengers in his corner, but Trump is fighting back with… Kid Rock. The Detroit rocker has been seen everywhere, from joining Trump on the golf course to playing at his rallies. He was also in attendance at Thursday night’s debate at Nashville’s Belmont University — where he, unsurprisingly, had to be compelled to wear a mask. Rock was seated near eccentric PGA golfer/fellow Trump supporter John Daly, and they both seemed to think they could just plop down without masks. As face covers were required at the indoor event, a member of the Debate Commission eventually confronted the pair and provided them with masks to put on. As shared by Entertainment Weekly, a priceless picture (seen in the tweet below) captures Rock and Daly looking down in bewilderme...
Bruce Springsteen’s Letter to You Documentary Sheds Light on What Drives The Boss: Review
The Pitch: It’s not every day that you record the 20th studio album of your half-century career in music. When that time does come, it’s worth memorializing. Such is the case with Bruce Springsteen’s Letter to You, the new making-of documentary now streaming on Apple TV+. Shot last November at Springsteen’s home studio in New Jersey during a four-day recording session with the E Street Band, the film does more than simply capture a veteran band making a hard job look easy. It also gives Springsteen a chance to expand upon and espouse the thoughts on legacy, time, and the creative process that animate the new record’s material. New Jersey in Winter: While it’s unlikely that Springsteen and his crew opted for a late fall recording date to maximize the potential for cinematic poignancy, that ...
Stevie Nicks, Foo Fighters, Adam Sandler and More Toast Tom Petty at Virtual 70th Birthday Bash: Review
It’s not surprising that Tom Petty’s passing came to inspire an annual birthday festival. Anyone who ever attended a Heartbreakers show knows that infinite feeling and suspicion that a summer night and a favorite song might somehow go on forever. That may not have turned out to be quite true, but artists, friends, and fans have been flocking to Gainesville since Petty’s death to hold on as tightly as possible to what the man and his music meant to so many of us. This year, of course, posed additional challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that didn’t stop Petty’s family and friends from piecing together a heartfelt tribute that not only celebrated what would’ve been the artist’s 70th birthday but raised money for several notable, music-related causes. <img aria-describedby="c...
Ozzy Osbourne: Eddie Van Halen Once Asked Me to Sing in Van Halen
Ozzy Osbourne (photo by David Brendan Hall), Eddie Van Halen (photo by Philip Cosores) In the wake of Eddie Van Halen’s passing earlier this month, some never-before-told stories have come to light about Van Halen’s search for a new singer over the years. Former Journey vocalist Steve Perry recently disclosed that Eddie had informally reached out to him about replacing David Lee Roth in the ’80s. Now, Ozzy Osbourne reveals that the guitarist once asked him to join the band. While Perry’s story had some viability, Ozzy admitted that Eddie was likely drunk when he received a late-night call from the guitar icon. In speaking with guitarist Billy Morrison (The Cult, Billy Idol) on SiriusXM’s Ozzy’s Boneyard channel, Ozzy said, “[Eddie] phoned me up one time and asked me if I wanted to sing in ...
Kim Petras Shares New Halloween Single “Party Till I Die”: Stream
“Boo! Bitch!” In keeping with her Halloween tradition, Kim Petras is back with a spooky new single called “Party Till I Die”. Here, the German pop star is willing to do just about anything for the sake of a good time — as long as the terrifyingly fun festivities take place after the sun goes down. “Only time I come alive/ Is in the middle of the night/ Looking for another high,” sings Petras. “Don’t care if it’s killing me/ This is all I really need/ My body’s in ecstasy.” Is she a vampire? Hungry for a bedroom romp? Both? It’s easy to fall for her temptations and the lure of a “dark paradise”, especially with the song’s stabbing percussion and manipulated vocals. Tune in below if you dare. According to an Instagram Live video posted by Petras yesterday, “Party Till I Die” is taken from th...
